The room was filled with tmmasked intruders with lethal precision. They stepped out, raised their guns, and spread their eyes out to cover every corner. Rick clamped the chair so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white; he turned his eyes back and forth, looking at the invaders, calculating where and how they would attack.Laura clung to Elvis, her back against the wall. Charles stood in front of them, prepared to take a bullet for them. But Jackson was calm, his eyes on the situation, reading the layout as if it were laid out before him.Rick moved first.Swinging the chair at the nearest attacker, he hit the man’s shoulder with it. The man went down sideways, before Rick could finish him off, two more came to him, moving fast, trained motions. One of them fired, and the bullet just missed his head as it embedded itself into the wall.“Stay down!” Laura crouched, shielding Elvis with her body and Rick shouted at her.Behind the nearest attacker, Jackson moved next, slippin

The boarded up windows let in early morning light, long shadows cast on the dusty floor of the abandoned building. Rick hadn’t slept. His mind was too busy thinking of their next steps. He took a glance over at Laura and Elvis who had been curled up on an old pile of blankets in the corner, exhausted from the nights events.Rick’s muscles were coiled, like springs. The quiet felt wrong. He didn’t trust it. It was too still, as if something was just out of their grasp. The weight of everything pressed down on him and he rubbed his temples. The faceless enemy hunting them, undertaking black markets, betrayals, the Eldwolf family, Wyndon, the hotel. He needed to keep his family safe, but the questions ate at him, how much longer could they run?Rick heard a faint sound outside. Footsteps. He got up and walked silently toward the window to look out onto the street. He watched as a familiar figure walked towards the building, purposefully. Jackson.Rick’s gun tightened around his grip. Jac

The clock ticked towards midnight and Rick, Jackson and the crew supplied by Hartman met at a remote location outside of Wyndon’s warehouse. Everything had been planned to a tee, every move calculated, but uncertainty was a heavy burden the weight of which felt like a dark cloud hanging over the group.Jackson checked his gear one last time, and Rick stood by him. The mission began to creep into his veins and his heart started pounding in his chest. The night was still, too quiet, even for traffic.Tactical vest straps tightened, Jackson muttered. “This is it. Once we move, there’s no going back.”His eyes scanned the darkened warehouse in the distance and he nodded. “I know. Hartman said we hit fast and hard. We can’t give Wyndon time to react.”Jackson glanced sideways at Rick. “And if Hartman’s playing us?”Rick clenched his jaw. He had thought about it more than once. They weren’t someone to be trusted but right now, they had no other choice. If there was a double cross in play, R

The long table in the boardroom was crowded with Ricks presence at the head of it, Jackson and Charles at his side. Key stakeholders in Sky Limitless Hotel filled the room, most of them had been loyal to the Eldwolf family.It was obvious that they were uneasy and their eyes on him anticipating the first weak spot. It was a battle he had to win, not just for himself, for Laura, Elvis, for the empire.The storm simmered in his voice, but the confidence was there, and he started: “Thank you all for being able to join us on such short notice. There are serious things to discuss regarding the stability of Sky Limitless Hotel and the integrity of our board.”The first to speak was Richard Dawson, the old guard of the board. “Rick, we have to get down to the recent staff unrest and the gossip about Eldwolfs partnerships. They have history with this hotel, we can’t ignore that.”Rick responded.“And that history has just dragged this hotel down. I know that a lot of you have ties to the Eldw

There was a heavy tension in the air in the boardroom. The board members had gathered for an emergency meeting at which Rick stood at the head of the table and stared down at them. The air was filled with whispers and of suspicion weighed heavily. Spread like wildfire were rumors of financial mismanagement resulting in Rick being compelled to come clean.Rick started to say, "Thank you for coming on such short notice," but his voice was steady in the rising storm. “I realize there have been serious questions about my leadership and financial decisions, and I want to talk about that directly.”Some of the board members glanced at one another, some skeptical, some concerned. Serious, Dawson sat at the far end of the table, leaning forward. “This is troubling for Rick, of course. They could jeopardize everything we’ve worked for if true.”Rick tried to keep his frustration in check and assured you, “They are not true. I have been transparent in everything I’ve done and the records prove